Each Snowflake is Unique
by BambixRonno
Summary: Manny tells the guardians that he will be sending them someone from an alternative universe that they have to help. Who is it? It's Jack, of course. Join the guardians in their quest to help these strange worlds. Or: Jack becomes an over-protective brother, Pitch has the life scared out of him and the guardians realize the many dangers they could have lost their Jack to
1. Chapter 1

**Oh, please don't look at me like that! I know, I know, it's a horrible idea, and it will probably mean that there will be slower updates everywhere but this idea would. Not. Leave. So you shall all suffer with me :D**

**Disclaimer: What you are about to read is basically Jack meeting other Jacks, many of which were born from fans minds, which means that me owning anything would be a disaster**

It was supposed to be just another ordinary guardian meeting. They would exchange news, Bunny would be mad at Jack for some kind of prank, Jack and Bunny would tease each other, and afterwards they would separate, with Tooth and Sandy leaving while Jack hung out at the pole for a while. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. But of course, Manny had to interfere with _everything._

"Frostbite!"

Jack hid a snicker as Bunny came in, clearly furious. Okay, so turning his ears pink and then coating them in frost might not have been the best idea, but it was fun. And it got a reaction out of him, and a very funny reaction at that.

"It ain't funny, Frostbite! Do you have any idea how long it's gonna take me to de-frost my ears _and _get the paint off?"

North laughed loudly as Tooth and Sandy entered the room, not even bothering to wonder what was going on, since Bunny's ears and Jack's smirking face told them all. Said winter spirit strolled casually to a chair and sat down, still grinning. "Aww, come on, Cottontail, lighten up! It isn't gonna take _that _long. Besides, if it makes you feel any better, I used the paint that comes off really easily."

Bunny grumbled something and sat down as near to the fireplace as he could get, hoping to melt his ears sooner. "I'm so glad I only have to deal with one of you. I don't think I could handle two Jacks, or three. They'd all be the same, and I'd never get a moment's peace."

Jack was about to retort when he noticed Sandy pointing at something. Turning, his mouth dropped open at the moon shining brighter than usual through the roof. "Cool..."

Everyone else's attention turned to the same place as Jack's, and a voice filled the room, filling the atmosphere with knowledge. _"Greetings, guardians. I have received distress calls from another dimension. You could call it an alternative universe. So I am sending some of them here for you to take care of. And Bunny, I'm afraid you'll just have to put up with it."_

"Alternative universe?" Jack asked. "Cool! But, uh, what exactly do you mean?"

"_Jack, you will find out soon enough. But don't worry, you play an important part of all of this. You will be the most likely to understand."_

Jack's jaw dropped open, and his eyes widened. The moonlight disappeared, and everyone turned to look at each other before their eyes drew to Jack, who wasn't really moving. "Uh, Jack, are you alright?"

"He answered me..." Jack mumbled, so quiet that even Bunny couldn't hear what he was saying. But they didn't need to ask him to repeat himself. "He answered me!"

Jack's joyful leaps around the room made Tooth wince. Suddenly it became painfully obvious how much the boy had wanted – _longed _for an answer from the moon during his time of isolation. To have him answer now after three hundred years of silence... no one could even imagine how he felt.

Finally Jack came down from the air and looked at the other guardians. "Wait, so if Manny's sending them here, then how will we know? Will they just randomly show up at the Pole, or...?"

"Honestly mate, do we look as if we know?"

"You have a point. I guess I should go and fly around to keep my eye out for anything. See what I can find. Maybe these people we have to help are already here, somewhere in the world."

Tooth stretched. "I should probably go back to my fairies." She announced. "Turn on the lights if you find anything."

Sandy made a couple of sand images to say that he would be looking for someone they needed to help while he was doing his rounds. Bunny shrugged and flopped down on the sofa. "Go ahead. Mind if I stay here for a bit, North? There isn't really much I can do with my tunnels, and I haven't got any eggs to paint. I've got time to spare."

North nodded, distracted by a yeti that was telling him about the latest crisis with the elves. Jack, at this point, had opened a window and gave them a last-minute look. "I should be back soon, it doesn't usually take me a long time to travel the world. If I really can't find anything, I'll come back. And also, activate the lights if you find them. I want to know." With that, Jack flew off.

Time ticked by. Hours passed, and there was no news from his fellow guardians. North began to get worried, remembering Jack's promise to return. He paced around the meeting room, muttering about the possibilities of getting attacked by Pitch or getting stuck somewhere hot like Florida or Australia. He wasn't really concerned for the others, since he didn't see them as much as Bunny and Jack anyway, but the winter spirit, on the other hand, was often at the pole. Finally, Bunny could take it no longer.

"For Manny's sake, North! Stop your worrying! The kid's a big boy, he can take care of himself. Pitch won't be back for a long time, and Jack isn't stupid enough to get himself stuck somewhere that's too warm for him unless he was somehow forced to stay there by the loss of his staff. He probably just got distracted by Jamie and got dragged into a snowball fight again. So sit down and shut up!"

North sighed in defeat, sinking into a nearby chair. "I guess you are right, Bunny."

More hours passed, and North had to fight the urge to start pacing, or to take the sleigh and go out looking for the winter spirit. Even Bunny started to get worried. But they remained where they were, talking idly as they waited for some news.

A sudden cold gust of wind burst through the workshop and Bunny looked up hopefully, only to have his ears drop in shock.

Jack collapsed on the floor, panting heavily and bleeding from various places. His leg appeared to be broken and there were several singed marks on his hoodie, from where he had been burnt. When the two rushed over, they could see a large gash on his head.

Bunny gently picked the winter spirit up, trying not to cause him more pain than he already was. It didn't work. Jack let out a small whimper from Manny-knows-what wound that had caused him more pain. Bunny quickly shushed him by pressing a nose to his head..

"H-hurts." Jack finally managed to gasp out, his arms clawing at Bunny to get a decent hold of the fur. Bunny's ears dropped, but he forced himself to remain calm. "I know mate, I know. But you're gonna have to put up with it for a little bit longer so that we can make it go away. Can you do that for me?" A small nod from Jack. "Can you tell us who did this to you?"

Jack shivered slightly in fear. "P-pitch." He whispered, before going limp in Bunny's arms. Bunny looked up at North, his eyes filled with fear. "What do we do, North? I don't think I've ever seen Jack this bad. Manny knows what Pitch did to the kid."

North seemed to snap out of his state of shock. "Take him into the infirmary. I have supplies there. I will call the others and tell them what happened."

Bunny wasted no time in rushing to the infirmary as fast as he dared, trying hard not to jostle the unconscious winter spirit he was holding, although that didn't stop the occasional whimper escaping his lips. Bunny couldn't help but worry. Manny knows the amount of pain the kid must be feeling right now, especially since he had to escape from Pitch and fly all the way over.

Why hadn't they started looking for him?

…...

Although it didn't usually take Jack that long to travel around the world, he didn't want to miss anything. Of course, it would help if he actually knew what he was looking for. So he had made sure to spend extra time in each place while he was searching to make sure he didn't miss anything. Jamie and the others had asked him to join in a snowball fight, and while he had been tempted, instead of agreeing he told them that he was busy and couldn't, but he would another time.

He was halfway through his search in Canada when Jack noticed the multicoloured lights in the sky. That either meant that Tooth or Sandy had found something, or whatever they were looking for had appeared at the North Pole. Whatever.

Jack took off immediately, flying back to the pole as fast as he could, eager to see what had happened. He so hoped that he was being called back because they had found something, and not because North was worried. That would just be a waste of time.

Upon arriving, Jack saw North talking to Tooth and Sandy, all with worried looks on their faces. A frightened and upset atmosphere surrounded the room. Well, he couldn't have that now, could he?

"Hey guys! I saw the lights and so I assume you guys have found something and... uh, why are you all staring at me like that?" Jack stopped what he was saying when all three eyes turned to stare at him. "Uh, was it something I said?"

Tooth turned to North. "North? Are you sure that it was Jack you saw?"

"Of course it was! White hair, blue hoodie, brown pants, barefoot. How could it possibly be anyone else?"

Jack gave them all a confused look. "Guys? Mind filling me in here? Because I don't really get what you guys are talking abou-"

Bunny opened a door, blood on his fur, looking exhausted but relieved. "Okay, so I had to set a few bones and a couple of Jack's cuts needed stitches, but he should be fi-" Bunny stopped when he caught sight of Jack standing there. His eyes widened and he went back into the room. Then came back out again. Back in. Back out. Back in. Back out. Back in. Back out. Finally, Jack decided that he'd had enough of the awkward silence.

"Would you guys just quit it already and tell me what's wrong? Because if it's nothing, then I need to get back to searching. It will take me ten seconds to get from here to the window. You have until then to tell me what's going on and why you're staring at me as if my skin has magically turned green."

Jack turned and began to head straight for the window to prove his point, and Bunny lunge for him, grabbing his shoulder. "Alright, alright! You might wanna come in here."

Jack nodded in satisfaction and followed Bunny to the room he'd originally walked out of. Cautiously, Jack opened the door and stepped inside. His jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

Sleeping on one of the many beds of the infirmary, with bandages around his chest and arms and his staff to the side, was another Jack.

"What – how – why is there – HUH?" Jack spluttered, staring at the copy lying in the bed. Bunny's ears flattened against his head. "He came in the workshop a while ago, bleeding and unable to stand up. When we asked him who did it to him, he said it was Pitch. Then he passed out. We... we thought it was you."

Jack hesitated for a moment before walking over to the sleeping figure. He examined the bandages for a moment, before nodding. "I can see why. He does look exactly like me. As for the stitches, if he is anything like me then frost should begin to cover the wounds to heal them, but it'll work faster with stitches. So he should be fine."

Bunny heaved a sigh of relief as he began to move next to Jack, but froze as the injured winter spirit let out a small groan and shifted. His ears perked up hopefully, but he didn't dare let out a sound. Jack, however, decided that the boy had been sleeping for far too long.

"Jack? Can you hear me? You need to open your eyes."

The other Jack let out a small whimper, and tried to open his eyes, but failed. "H-hurts..."

"I know." Jack soothed. "But you're gonna have to open your eyes for me. Can you do that?"

His answer was eyelids struggling open as a pair of eyes tried to gain focus on the room. When they did, the other Jack let out a startled yelp and tried to scramble backwards, only to have Jack keep him in place with a firm hand. "Whoa, dude, calm down. We're not gonna hurt you."

The other Jack trembled violently but made no more move to get up. He eyed his staff for a moment as if considering trying to grab it but must have decided against it because he eventually looked back. "H-how are there two of me? What's going on?"

Jack shrugged then turned to the others. "Didn't Manny say something about helping people from alternative universes?"

Bunny nodded, taking a place on the side of the infirmary bed. "Yeah. Wait, Manny also said that you'd be the most likely to understand, and that you had an important part, so..."

Tooth's wings picked up a bit. "So that must mean that Manny is going to send us different Jack's that need our help!"

Bunny let out a groan and buried his face in his paws. "Oh please, no! I can barely handle one Jack, I don't need two of them jumping all around my head. The pole will be a disaster zone, with them pranking everyone."

Jack snorted at the comment but was cut off by a small whimper of pain coming from the bed. His copy was holding his side with a pained look on his face, probably from when he had tried to laugh. Bunny immediately shushed him by nudging his nose against the boy's head again. "Easy there, Jack."

"You know, it's gonna be difficult if you guys keep referring to both of us as 'Jack' all the time. One of us is gonna need another name to go by. Temporarily, of course."

Bunny looked at Jack in surprise and nodded. "Frostbite's got a point, there. Okay, so how about this. You-" He pointed to the Jack that was lying in the infirmary bed and currently hugging his arm. "can be Frosty."

Frosty nodded in agreement, and silence fell in the room once more. When Frosty had finally fallen asleep, North beckoned towards the door. Bunny stood up and began to leave, but when he tried to pull Jack with him, the boy didn't move. When they looked at him, Jack only shook his head. "I don't really think Frosty should be left here. He'll take comfort in the fact that when he wakes up, he won't be alone, trust me."

Bunny was about to argue, but realised that – unfortunately – Jack was right. If Frosty woke up alone, then he would panic. And that wouldn't do anything to help his current condition. Plus, they would know when he was awake, and they could find out exactly what happened. So instead he nodded and left the room with the others.

About two hours had passed before they returned to the infirmary, only to find Frosty sat up and laughing with Jack about something. He had his staff back, and was holding it in a tight grip, as opposed to how calmly Jack held his.

"Jack! Why didn't you tell us when Frosty woke up?" Bunny snapped, walking into the room. Frosty flinched but Jack barely blinked. Instead he turned calmly to the guardians standing in the doorway. "He didn't want me to leave. I couldn't exactly say no to that, could I?"

Bunny huffed in annoyance, and crossed his arms. Jack only rolled his eyes and turned back to Frosty. "Can you tell us what you remember?" Frosty hesitated for a moment, clearly not wanting to think about it. "Come on, you knew this question was coming. There's no avoiding it."

Frosty sighed in defeat. "Okay. Well, it started a few months ago, at least, I think it was a few months ago, when I was skating on my lake. I'd been having so much fun that I hadn't noticed the way the shadows twisted in unnatural ways. By the time I realised it, Pitch was already trying to drag me away. I tried to escape, but he knocked me out. The next thing I knew, I was chained up in some kind of cell in his lair with nightmare sand around my wrists. Pitch came in, and started taunting me... something about not being fit enough to guard children because I couldn't even guard myself... and he kept telling me that the guardians hated me, that I was nothing but a tool to them. When I tried to stand up for them, he attacked me." A shudder. "That's when the beatings began. I'm not sure how often it was, my time in the cell messed with my sense of time, but every now and then Pitch would come into the cell and beat me, all while taunting me and saying that the guardians would never come. And... after a period of time without even the slightest signs of being rescued... I began to _believe _him. I haven't been a guardian for very long, you see. And... I guess I'm still afraid that they'll abandon me."

"Whoa whoa, hold up a minute. What exactly did Pitch do when he... beat you?"

Bunny was partly grateful for Jack's interruption because he didn't even want to _think _about whether or not Jack trusted _them. _On the other hand, he wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to know what Pitch had done.

Frosty shivered in fear. "He would... he would do things like whip me, cut me with a knife, sometimes bringing a candle to me." No one but Frosty missed the way Jack's fists clenched in anger. "Oh yeah, and he would sometimes kick me as well... hence the broken bones. And... he kind of... branded me."

Jack's entire body stiffened. "_WHAT?!"_

Frosty flinched, and Jack took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Where?"

Frosty hesitated before slowly rolling his sleeve up to his shoulder. Pitch's name had been branded on his skin near the edge, and it looked incredibly painful. Jack looked at it for a moment before slowly bringing a hand to it. Frosty hissed in pain at the contact for a moment, before letting out a sigh of relief. "Thank you. He did that to me just a little while ago, and he got assistance from a summer spirit so it kind of still hurts."

Jack gave him a small smile before rolling down the sleeve, not wanting to look at it any longer. "So what happened next?"

"Well, as well as Pitch dropping by, I've been getting these awful nightmares whenever I go to sleep. I try so hard to stay awake but... I just get so _tired._ I'm not sure how long it's been exactly, but I'm sure it's been over a month, so I haven't had a peaceful rest for ages. A few hours ago, I heard footsteps and assumed it was Pitch coming back, but it was actually the guardians. Sandy unlocked the cell and got rid of the nightmare sand chains, and then they tried to get me back to the pole. But as we were flying through the sleigh a few Nightmares appeared and started to attack us. Then there was a blinding while light, and the next thing I knew I was lying outside of the workshop. The others had gotten me my staff back so I asked the wind to take me inside. That's how I ended up barrelling in here spreading blood all over the place like a madman."

Bunny rubbed Frosty's shoulder in a comforting manner. Jack sent him a smile but gently pushed him back down onto the bed despite his protests. A small stream of dreamsand crept across the room and dusted over Frosty's eyes. Within second there was an image of Frosty playing with Bunny while the others sat at the side and watched.

Bunny cast Jack a look. "Uh, Jack? You okay, mate?"

"You have no idea," Jack started, his voice dangerously low. Everyone took a step back. "how much I want to go and find the Pitch in Frosty's world and turn him into an ice statue. Too much heat for a winter spirit hurts like _hell._"

"Yeah... I'll take that as a no, then." Bunny replied. "Look, if you want to go somewhere to cool off, North has a training centre on the third floor."

Jack immediately bolted for the door, letting out a quick call of, "Don't leave Frosty alone!" before making his escape to go and murder something in the training centre. Bunny sighed in relief. "Thank the moon. I was afraid that he was gonna lose his temper and accidentally turn us all into ice."

North nodded in agreement. "He looked ready to kill someone."

"Did anyone else notice how protective Jack seems to be of Frosty?" Tooth asked. "I mean, I know that if anyone got hurt Jack would probably be concerned anyway, but this time he looked... he looked like what he had found out was tearing him apart inside out."

"Probably just because Frosty is supposed to be another version of Jack himself, and he has a pretty good idea of what Frosty's going through." Bunny shrugged.

"No, it looked more like it was some kind of... instinct. Almost as if something about Frosty made Jack want to protect him."

"Wait a minute, mate." Bunny held up a paw. "I've just thought of something. Jack had a little sister when he was human, right?" Tooth nodded. "Well, because of that Jack has the instincts of an older brother. Frosty was hurt, vulnerable, afraid, and that can make someone appear younger than they actually are. When Jack saw that, his older brother instincts kicked in immediately, making him want to shield Frosty from any harm." A thought crossed his mind. "Oh Manny. Now we're gonna have to deal with an over-protective Jack Frost for the moon knows how long. That would be interesting if Pitch randomly decided to attack, but it also puts us in a slight danger zone."

No one needed to ask how that was possible. With Jack fussing over Frosty and being a typical protective older brother, if they so much as looked at him in the wrong way Jack would have a fit. And a furious Jack Frost was not good. Pitch knew that more than anyone.

Jack finally came back from North's training centre, panting slightly but looking a lot calmer. "Thanks for letting me use that room, North. But just a warning. You might want to put a fire in there to melt all of that ice."

North didn't get a chance to reply as a groan came from the bed drew their attention to the wakening winter spirit. Jack was by his side in an instance. "Hey Frosty. You feeling better?"

Frosty nodded, which made Jack smile, but he suddenly gasped, eyes widening as he stared at one of the many corners of the room. The shadows twisted and turned unnaturally, a painfully obvious signal that Pitch was around. Frosty yelped and tried to hide under the covers, while Jack's grip on his staff tightened and his teeth gritted together. "_Pitch._" He spat. "Finally decided to come crawling out of your damp little hiding place like the slug you are, then?"

Pitch smirked as he emerged from the shadows. "Oh Jack, I don't think you understand my job." He purred. "If there is a source of fear, I go to it, and my meal begins. That other Jack you have there – Frosty, I believe you've named him? – has a simply _delectable _fear of me. I cannot simply resist the urge to gain more." His smirk widened as Frosty whimpered. "I honestly don't know why I didn't think of taking you, Jack. Still, the fear has already been planted in Frosty, and he'll make such a delightful banquet. I shall enjoy finishing the job of breaking him." He missed the way that Jack growled slightly. "Now, I think I'll just take this beautiful little source of fear back to my lair. So kind of you to give me a present, guardians." The Nightmare King took a step towards the two winter spirits, and Frosty automatically screamed in fear.

That was all Jack needed.

There was a crash that made everyone, even Frosty, look up. No one had ever realised how fast Jack could be. Within a second Pitch had gone from slowly approaching Frosty to being pinned against the wall with Jack's staff to his throat. Rage sparked in his eyes. "Don't take another step towards him." He growled. "Or you'll have to deal with me."

Pitch, despite the small spark of worry that started in him, smirked at the winter spirit holding him against the wall. "And why ever not, Jack? Are you afraid for that precious little boy? Look at him! He's pathetic, weak, unable to fight. He's useless for you. I, on the other hand, have a reason to keep him."

Jack growled and pressed the staff against Pitch's throat even more, threatening to cut off his oxygen supply. Pitch gasped and choked. "Now that I have your undivided attention, you listen to me. Here's what's gonna happen. There are going to be people from alternative universes coming here for us to take care of. Frosty is only the first. And you are going to stay the hell away from them. If you dare to show your face around us during this time, I will remove your face with my bare hands. And if you _dare _to try and threaten any of them, or my family, I swear to the moon, every minute for the rest of your immortal life will be spent in pain, torment, torture and misery. If you touch one hair on Frosty's head, I will personally rip out every one of your internal organs slowly and painfully, and I will make sure you are alive and conscious when I do it. Do I make myself clear?"

Pitch gulped and didn't reply, which only made Jack press his staff into his throat even more. "_Do I make myself clear?!_" He hissed.

"Crystal clear, Jack." Pitch coughed. Jack smirked and dropped him before turning to go back to Frosty's side. "Good boy. Now get out of here before I turn you into an ice statue."

Pitch scrambled towards the nearest shadow and dived into it, secretly vowing to avoid Jack for as long as he possibly could. He would never admit it, but he was petrified. _How can one boy be so terrifying?_

Satisfied, Jack turned back to the other guardians, only to stop. Bunny, who had obviously been prepared for a fight, had dropped his boomerangs. Tooth's wings had stopped fluttering. Sandy looked ready to fall over, and North looked like he didn't know what to think. Frosty was just sat there. Every one of them were staring at him, mouths wide opened. "Uh, are you guys okay?"

Bunny slowly closed his mouth. "Well... I guess this means we won't have any troubles with Pitch for a few centuries or so."

"Forget a few centuries. I don't think he'll ever come back. I'm curious to find out if he's ever going to crawl out of his lair again. He looked scared to death."

"Jack." Frosty said slowly. "Since when did you become so scary? Have you always been like this?"

Jack blinked a few times before he realised what they were talking about. "Oh, you mean those threats? Don't worry, I wouldn't do anything like that to you guys. It was Pitch's own fault, he shouldn't have threatened Frosty. If he hadn't made me angry, then he wouldn't have to have had those threats thrown at him."

"So... were those empty threats then?"

"No, Bunny, they weren't. I don't make empty threats. I told him what I would do to him if he didn't stay away, and I fully intend to go through with what I said should he ignore what I say."

Bunny stared at him for a moment before slowly backing away. "Never getting on you're bad side. You're terrifying when you want to be."

Jack giggled slightly before sitting next to Frosty again. "Don't worry, Bunny. You're my friend, so I wouldn't do that to you. It's jerks like Pitch who deserve it that I would do it to." He scowled slightly. "That should teach him to mess with Frosty."

Said winter spirit found himself clinging to Jack's arm like it was a lifeline. By all rights, Jack's outburst should have left him trembling in fear, but instead he felt comforted by the fact that Jack was willing to go to such extreme measures to protect him, and because of that, he felt safe. Jack was his protector, and he wouldn't let any harm come to Frosty.

Jack looked at Frosty for a moment before he smiled and hugged him gently. "Hey, it's alright. Pitch won't be coming back any time soon. I'll die before that happens. No need to try and cut off my blood circulation in my arm."

Frosty squeaked slightly and got off. "Sorry!"

Jack only laughed and shook his head playfully, ruffling Frosty's hair. "It's okay. Don't worry about it."

As Frosty fell asleep for what could have been the hundred time, Jack simply sat and watched, his blue eyes never once leaving the sleeping face. But when Bunny made a move towards the two and accidentally hit something with his foot, Jack's head snapped to the rabbit, glaring at him. "Don't you dare wake him up." Jack hissed. "Or I swear, you'll be locked in your warren for the next week."

Bunny gulped and backed away, hands held up defensively. "Okay, okay. I was just thinking you might want to go and take a break from looking after Frosty. You know, spread some snow and ice, do your job?"

"Are you insane as well as stupid? I'm not leaving Frosty alone." Jack turned back to the sleeping winter spirit. "He doesn't deserve to be alone. You guys, however," He shot a look at the four guardians. "do have to go back to work. I'll watch him."

He'd said it politely enough, but the true meaning was there. _Get the hell out, or I will freeze you all. He's my brother, and I'll look after him._

Bunny rolled his eyes and began to drag the others out of the room. "Fine. But if he wakes up, I want to know." He didn't see Jack's absent-minded nod as he closed the door to the infirmary. Leaning against it, he sighed in despair. "Now Frostbite's gonna be like this for as long as Frosty's here. Oh, fun and joy."

**So, yeah. It's horrible, I know, but still. Please leave a review.**

**Oh, and one more thing. Please leave a request on which types of Jack you want to see (human Jack, female Jack, blind Jack, any AU Jack's basically) because if you don't, then you might never see it. Better safe than sorry, right?**


	2. Chapter 2

**NOTE: I got a couple of reviews saying that I accidentally updated the first chapter twice. I'm so sorry about that! Here's the real second chapter**

**Alright, here's the next chapter!**

**By the way, the amount of reviews I ended up getting for the first chapter? Yeah, I'm still recovering from the shock of it. So... many... reviews! *screams* Thank you!**

**Now while you read this chapter, I'm going to go cry tears of joy in a corner.**

**Also, SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG! But the last chapter was so long and I wanted this chapter to be just as long as the last one but I kept hitting walls while I was writing this and had problems finding ways around it so that I could continue, and then I had to go to Florida and... and... *cries*.**

**So, yeah, the reason the last chapter was so long was because when I originally started writing it, I didn't plan on uploading it, so it was just free writing that I could take as much time with as I wanted (I have a lot of those...). But now that it's uploaded, and since I hate taking forever to update, it means I'm gonna have to start running this story by my seven-page limit. Don't get me wrong, if I can, they will be longer, but seven pages is gonna have to be my limit, because for some reason that gives me motivation. Sorry about that, guys.**

**Disclaimer: WHY CAN'T I OWN YOU, ROTG?! *sobs***

The next thing to do, of course, was get Frosty out of the infirmary, which quickly proved to be a problem. The winter spirit was extremely reluctant to get out of the room he'd been put in, as if leaving left him exposed to some kind of danger. North was busy decorating the spare bedroom opposite of Jack's for Frosty, so it didn't bother him as much and as a result he didn't complain, but it made the others worried.

Correction: It made Tooth and Sandy worried, it annoyed Bunny, and it nearly made Jack have a panic attack.

It wasn't like Frosty was outright refusing to leave the infirmary, but it was more like he didn't seem to have the ability to leave, both physically and mentally. Whenever Frosty tried to get out of bed his body was shaking so much that his legs were unable to hold him up, with or without the help of his staff, which only sent Jack into a mother-hen mode that could rival Tooth's. It was like his body had been traumatized by Pitch's abuse and now that it had a chance to not move as it rested, it was going to do exactly that. And apparently, some part of his mind had been scarred enough to agree with his body because the boy never protested about being put back in the infirmary bed. Also, fear occasionally flickered in his eyes when he was told that he was going to leave the room.

Not only that, but every time someone who wasn't Jack reached out to touch him, Frosty always flinched without fail. He'd still allow the contact to happen, still took the hand that offered to help him up after some hesitation, but it was always with a nervous gleam in his eyes. It seemed like the only person who was oblivious to the fact that he flinched was Frosty himself. And while Jack couldn't deny that he liked the feeling of Frosty trusting him, he also couldn't deny that he wanted the same trust for the rest of his family. But how was he supposed to reassure Frosty of his safety when the winter spirit couldn't even leave the bed?

Finally, Bunny suggested small exercises that should get Frosty walking again, which also got an interesting reaction from Jack ("Why couldn't you have told us this sooner, you stupid Kangaroo?!") and resulted in a very amusing argument ("I've told you a thousand times, you bloody show pony, I'M A BUNNY!") that succeeded in keeping Frosty entertained for a few hours or so before they agreed to try it to help him. Or at least, they decided that Jack would try to help Frosty while the others sat back and relaxed. From what the guardians had seen, the kid was doing pretty well, since Frosty had finally grown bored of being in the infirmary.

"That's it, slow and steady now. Look, see, you're doing fine."

Jack's tender and caring voice made the other four guardians look up from what they were doing, only to see Jack carefully making his way into the room with Frosty's arm around his shoulder. The injured winter spirit was holding his staff in a death grip, using it like a walking stick, and he was partly leaning on Jack for support. He looked slightly exhausted but was smiling nonetheless, although that didn't stop Bunny from being annoyed that Frosty was moving, due to the fact that he wasn't supposed to be for another week.

"Frostbite! Frosty isn't supposed to be up and about yet, you know that."

"But Bunny, he wanted to come out, and you didn't see his face back in the infirmary! Trust me, if you'd have seen the look he was giving me, you wouldn't say 'no' either! You wouldn't have resisted the look for as long as I did!"

"Oh come on, the look couldn't have been that ba- oh Manny."

Frosty had apparently decided to prove Jack's point by showing Bunny the look that Jack was talking about. His lips formed a small pout and his eyes widened as he sent Bunny a pleading look. A small whining noise escaped his lips, one that sounded a lot like a kicked puppy to match the look on his face. Bunny covered his eyes with his paw but couldn't resist peaking. "Frosty... stop it, please..."

His response was blue eyes widening more, a trembling lower lip stuck out further, and... sweet MiM, were those _tears?_ Bunny heard Tooth collapse to the floor and he finally gave in. "Alright, alright! You can wander around the workshop, so long as you have someone with you. Just stop giving me that... that look!"

Jack, who had turned away so as not to fall victim to Frosty's face, stopped the timer he was holding. "Fifteen seconds. Not bad, but as I predicted, I lasted longer, a full thirty seconds. I guess that's what happens when you had a younger sister who pulled that look all the time."

"Then shouldn't you have been able to resist?!"

"Cool it, Kangaroo. I never said I didn't give in to my sister when she pulled that look, I just managed to not give in for longer periods of time. Plus, Frosty pulled off the 'kicked puppy' look better."

"So then why didn't he use that look on Pitch?!"

"You know Bunny, I was a little busy with being in pain, dealing with Pitch's taunting and having nightmares to think about the look on my face." Frosty said, rolling his eyes. "Besides, I doubt it would work on him anyway. If anything, it would only make it worse. Pitch would enjoy me looking vulnerable."

"Frostbite dealt with our Pitch."

"That's different. He outright threatened to kill Pitch slowly and painfully, and any idiot could tell that he meant it. And I wasn't exactly in the position to be making death threats, either."

"... Frosty, shut up."

"Aww, is the Kangaroo sore because he lost the argument?" Jack teased, poking Bunny with his staff.

"But it wasn't you who beat me in the argument, it was Frosty. Which shows that he's different from you because he's more intelligent."

"Oh, I'm intelligent." Jack smirked. "I just choose not to show it. And also, you just admitted that you lost the argument, and since Frosty and me are _technically _the same person, you just admitted that you lost the argument to me, so..."

"I hate you."

"No you don't, you love me."

Frosty giggled at the way Jack and Bunny argued. Despite the insults that were exchanged, their was something about the way they stood that was natural, almost casual. Like they were _meant _to stand there and argue like brothers. In fact, that's probably what they were, although neither of them would ever admit it. And a part of him longed to feel that sibling rivalry between him and an older brother with the Bunny back in his world.

At the thought of that his stomach twisted. The guardians. Were they alright? Did they know where he was? Were they panicking and combing through the planet in a useless attempt to find him? He hoped not. Was all of this just a dream then? Unless his subconscious had suddenly gained a wild, insane imagination with enough hate for Pitch to create a Jack that threatened to kill Pitch slowly and painfully as well as make everything seem so realistic and convincing, then no, probably not. So how was he supposed to get home? He couldn't stay forever, if anything it was because he didn't think Pitch would be able to survive (he almost pitied the boogeyman. Almost) and because of how worried the guardians would be.

It took Jack and Bunny a while to stop arguing, but when they did it resulted in Bunny storming over to the chair nearest the fireplace in a huff and Jack rolling his eyes before helping Frosty to a chair near the window.

"Thanks."

"No problem." Jack smiled, before randomly stealing a nearby chair (it wasn't like Tooth ever really intended to use it) to sit next to him. The overwhelming feeling of warmth and comfort was extremely familiar to him. He wasn't sure what anyone else felt like when they had the responsibility of being an older sibling, but that was how he felt. And he quite liked it. He hadn't quite realised that he'd been longing for a younger sibling to take care of for a while. It wasn't a strong longing, of course it wasn't, but it was there. Although it wasn't like he minded.

It was a while until Frosty decided he wanted to get up again, and even then it was because his boredom had become too much to handle (and everyone in the room knew all too well that a bored winter spirit was dangerous, physical and mental condition be damned). Since his attempts to get off of the chair himself failed, Jack quickly grabbed a hand and pulled him up, ignoring the grumbles about doing it on his own. He stood still, wobbling for a few moments before he felt like he was able to walk. Frosty took a cautious step forward, gripping his staff like the world would end if he dared to let go of it. Jack took his arm for support but it was shoved off impatiently. The only reaction that got was Bunny rolling his eyes at the behaviour. So very Jack-like. Frosty was definitely getting better.

After a few moments of slow walking Frosty felt like he'd gotten a grip on it and picked up the pace a little, taking a little bit of his weight off of his staff. For a moment he almost stumbled but he managed to right himself before he could go crashing onto the floor. Jack decided to focus on this achievement instead of the fact that Frosty was walking with a very bad limp and would be on the floor had it not been for his staff. After all, he had no doubts that Frosty would just get seriously ticked off with him for doing nothing but fussing and worrying all the time, although he couldn't entirely _help _it. He just wanted to keep Frosty safe more than anything. Damn instincts.

He walked with his hurt counterpart, far enough behind to give Frosty a feeling of independence but close enough that he could help if he needed to. He observed Frosty carefully. His injuries were healing nicely, albeit slowly enough that Jack was concerned about them, and within a few days he should be fine, physically if nothing else. Which would mean he would have to go back home. Jack tried not to linger for too long on this fact. If he wasn't okay mentally or emotionally, then Manny would surely want the guardians from Frosty's universe to take care of that part. Honestly, they were lucky that Frosty trusted them at all, and wasn't questioning his sanity, considering the fact that he'd gotten thrown into another world with people he both did and didn't know. Besides, he had to go home eventually.

So why did the thought of Frosty leaving hurt so damn much that it was the equivalent to the pain of losing a sibling?

**Crap ending, I know, but I wasn't entirely sure how to finish the chapter, plus I was a little desperate to get it done because of the long wait and everything. Again, so sorry about that!**

**Once again, leave a review, and a request for what type of Jack you would like to see after Frosty, aka Tortured!Jack**


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